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Motorola Previews iTunes Phone
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Apple //e said:
It might be a nice feature to be able to switch to from the default touch-tone interface. A cool look at what I can do with my phone feature. Cell phone features are rarely out of necessity or a matter of form following function.
dongmin said:
So you are assuming that that they cannot make a phone similar to the E680 with iTunes for under $500, I don't know where you live, but $300 phones are the high-end- Moto razor is $349.00.
If the Apple phone does not impress people with Style as well as function, then it will fail, and it will be their own fault.
People expect Apple products to be cutting edge and stylish, not re-hashes of typical Motorola generic phones. Which is why Moto lost it first place market dominance, they need this to be a hit as well as Apple.
So before you go off on people going off, do some market research other than reading posts on a rumor board.
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iPhone
This article refers to the Motorola phone as the "iPhone" in the headline.
However, there is no explanation of the basis for calling it that, and it could be an episode of idiocy.
This article refers to the Motorola phone as the "iPhone" in the headline.
However, there is no explanation of the basis for calling it that, and it could be an episode of idiocy.
xsnightclub said:
The Motorola Razr V3 can be purchased for $350 only with a new contract. You get it at that price because it's subsidized by the carrier.
The retail price for the phone, without subsidies, is $650-$700.
frozenstar said:
Have you ever paid full retail for a cell phone? Your point is moot.
Your sufficient level of common sense is amazing. Good thing companies no longer need marketing commitees, because common sense is sufficient.
Full retail for a moto v60 is 229.00, no one is gonna pay that.
With prices like this who needs a contract
Here is the Moto E680, $579.99 priced as shown WITH-OUT contract requirement.
List price is $649.99
Obviously this phone will be cheaper with service contracts.
Given the %50 discount with service contract for the Razor phone, that would put the e680 at about $325.00 with 2yr contract.
Here is the Moto E680, $579.99 priced as shown WITH-OUT contract requirement.
List price is $649.99
Obviously this phone will be cheaper with service contracts.
Given the %50 discount with service contract for the Razor phone, that would put the e680 at about $325.00 with 2yr contract.
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Such a phone's success here will depend if the carriers here will offer the usual discounts for first time connectors & switchers with this phone. No one I know pays full price for new phones.
cool picture
I think that this photo is cool, even though it is just a model for presentation purposes. I can't wait for the real one because it seems that since most phones now have color screens, this motorola/apple phone might be just a simpler version of an iPod Photo. Personally, I hope it is as small as the razor because phones like the treo are too big and clunky for me. But I do think that bluetooth is a must. Oh well, can't wait for Tuesday.
malibux said:
I think that this photo is cool, even though it is just a model for presentation purposes. I can't wait for the real one because it seems that since most phones now have color screens, this motorola/apple phone might be just a simpler version of an iPod Photo. Personally, I hope it is as small as the razor because phones like the treo are too big and clunky for me. But I do think that bluetooth is a must. Oh well, can't wait for Tuesday.
frequeniquity said:that's just weird and sad and kinda gross
Yah whats even worse is I'm one of them.
I would pay the penalty fee to break my contract with Nextel if one of the carriers came out with a Apple PDAPhone. 
AirUncleP said:
The parent post is right. Playing MP3's will kill battery life.
Using BT on My SE P900 eats battery life - streaming music will murder it, if this were possible. I won't even talk about using GPRS and the effects on the battery life...
You will have very poor battery life when downloading your music and to play them on your phone.
xsnightclub said:
True. And Moto have 6 models out IIRC in the first half, and success of the Razor suggests to me a few flips itunes/ipod phones will also appear...I hope...
SiliconAddict said:
I think someone else mentioned this already, but a flash mp3 player uses much less battery than a cell phone. It might be that listening to music for an hour would only take up a few minutes of talk time (or something like that.)
I never considered this, but you are absolutely spot on here. I haven't seriously believed the iPhone and Apple PDA rumors, but you have me thinking. The 3 main smartphone OS's- Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian- were all originally PDA OS's (I would say Symbian has been modified the most though.) We're all sort of used to that interface approach, but there's a great chance for Apple to revolutionize the smart phone interface like they revolutionized with the iPod. How? Who the heck knows, that's for Apple to figure out. Who would've anticipated the scroll wheel, or even the click wheel, before it came out?
I'm sure that Apple has at least discussed this with Motorola, and considered working with them on more than iTunes compatibility. Maybe they even have a bunch of different prototypes in their respective labs. Also, doing this iTunes-compatibility thing first gives Apple some real-world experience into designing cell phone interfaces- it's not like they can waltz in with no prior working experience and design the ultimate smart phone. The devil is always in the details with this sort of thing, and Apple should be gaining some valuable experience here (just as the iPod has gone through multiple iterations over the years.) Actually, even their experience with the iPod helps since it is also a handheld device.
This could be a real coup for Motorola as well. It seems that competition in the cell phone market is really tough. One day you're up with the hottest models, a year later you're in the dumps because you didn't anticipate the next trend. If they were to lock in some sort of partnership with Apple, it could really differentiate their products.
I'm still long on Apple stock for the long run (have you seen the price today!), because in addition to iPod and the Halo effect for the Mac, you never know what new product category they could bust out in next. Over the next couple of years I am sure we will see at least one or maybe 2 totally new products from Apple. If even one of them is a minor hit, then Apple stock will continue to rise.
SiliconAddict said:Yah whats even worse is I'm one of them.
I have to say I'm one of them, too. I love my Tungsten T3, and I'm very happy with the Verizon service on my LG phone, but I'd dump them both in a hot second if Apple came out with a PDA/phone done the way only Apple can do it.
edesignuk said:So who's gonna pos tthe first photoshop mockup?
I'm quite sure the final product will look better than a mockup
powermac666 said:
The funny thing is I dumped my Palm Tungsten C after I got an iPod Mini, because I just store my PIM information on that. I had recently bought an iBook, and the awesome sleep feature sort of eliminated my need for the Palm (in combination with the iPod Mini.)
I think any discussion of an Apple smartphone would begin with what actual features or uses that Apple would anticipate users wanting/needing. Would it mainly be accessing info (PIM, text/email, text updates/information from the web) or manipulating info (all the myriad things you can do on a Palm.) I think Apple would stick to a reduced feature set that is done very well. The problem with PDA's in general is that the makers have added tons of features over the years, but that they are shoehorned into a format (small screen, slow user input methods) that is not ideal for many computing tasks.
The way I might imagine an Apple smart phone is something with a supremely simple interface- default mode is to talk, but otherwise you have a list of choices up front- iTunes, iPhoto (or equivalent), Messages (text or email), .Mac, News, Weather, Stocks, Sports, etc...Make your selection, and boom- you're instantly there without any significant delays or having to drill down through too many obscure menus. I think Sherlock would be the type of interface used for accessing info (simple, targeted, elegant), rather than a web browser (more versatile but not as clean or organized, problematic on a small screen.)
It's a common adage that 90% of PDA users only use the pre-installed apps, so Apple would focus heavily on that, rather than worry about developing a complete mobile computer OS. It would have some expandibility, but not as much as Palm or Windows Mobile.
I think a smartphone like this would also be more attractive to Apple than a PDA. A lot of people would use a smartphone like this, while not nearly as many people want a PDA.
